diff --git a/lib/tasks/search_event_loader.rake b/lib/tasks/search_event_loader.rake
index 1b87f8b..b511cc0 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/search_event_loader.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/search_event_loader.rake
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ namespace :search_events do
   # @example
   # bin/rails search_events:csv_loader['local_path_to_file.csv', 'some-source-to-use-for-all-loaded-records']
   #
+  # @example
+  # bin/rails search_events:csv_loader['https://SERVER/remote_path_to_file.json', 'some-source-to-use-for-all-loaded-records']
+  #
   # @param path [String] local file path to a CSV file to load
   # @param source [String] source name to load the data under
   desc 'Load search_events from csv'
@@ -21,46 +24,20 @@ namespace :search_events do
     raise ArgumentError.new, 'Path is required' if args.path.blank?
     raise ArgumentError.new, 'Source is required' if args.source.blank?
 
-    Rails.logger.info("Loading data from #{args.path}")
-
-    CSV.foreach(args.path) do |row|
-      term = Term.create_or_find_by!(phrase: row.first)
-      term.search_events.create!(source: args.source, created_at: row.last)
+    # does the file look like a path or a URI
+    if URI(args.path).scheme
+      Rails.logger.info("Loading data from remote file #{args.path}")
+      data = URI.parse(args.path).open('rb', &:read)
+    else
+      Rails.logger.info("Loading data from local file #{args.path}")
+      data = File.read(args.path)
     end
-  end
 
-  # url loader can bulk load SearchEvents and Terms.
-  #
-  # @note This is not for use in production. It is intended for use in review apps on Heroku, to load records in
-  #   preparation for demonstrations.
-  #
-  # @note the csv should be formated as `term phrase`, `timestamp`. A dataclip is available that can export in this
-  #   format.
-  #
-  # @example
-  # bin/rake search_events:url_loader['https://example.org/file.csv', 'some-source-to-use-for-all-loaded-records']
-  #
-  # @param addr [String] a URL for a CSV file to load
-  # @param source [String] source name to load the data under
-  desc 'Load search_events from url'
-  task :url_loader, %i[addr source] => :environment do |_task, args|
-    raise ArgumentError.new, 'URL is required' if args.addr.blank?
-    raise ArgumentError.new, 'Source is required' if args.source.blank?
-
-    Rails.logger.info("Term count before import: #{Term.count}")
-    Rails.logger.info("SearchEvent count before import: #{SearchEvent.count}")
-
-    url = URI.parse(args.addr)
-    Rails.logger.info("Loading data from #{url}")
-
-    file = url.open.read
-    data = CSV.parse(file)
-    data.each do |row|
+    # not ideal, we should consider streaming the file rather than loading it fully into memory
+    # if you run into issues with this, consider loading subsets (such as a single month) at a time
+    CSV.parse(data) do |row|
       term = Term.create_or_find_by!(phrase: row.first)
       term.search_events.create!(source: args.source, created_at: row.last)
     end
-
-    Rails.logger.info("Term count after import: #{Term.count}")
-    Rails.logger.info("SearchEvent count after import: #{SearchEvent.count}")
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/tasks/search_event_loader_rake_test.rb b/test/tasks/search_event_loader_rake_test.rb
index 964d750..cc2e4e8 100644
--- a/test/tasks/search_event_loader_rake_test.rb
+++ b/test/tasks/search_event_loader_rake_test.rb
@@ -6,32 +6,31 @@
 class SearchEventLoaderRakeTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   def setup
     Tacos::Application.load_tasks if Rake::Task.tasks.empty?
-    Rake::Task['search_events:url_loader'].reenable
+    Rake::Task['search_events:csv_loader'].reenable
   end
 
-  test 'url_reload can accept a url and source parameter' do
+  test 'csv_loader can accept a url and source parameter' do
     records_before = SearchEvent.count
     VCR.use_cassette('search_events:url_loader from remote csv') do
       remote_file = 'http://static.lndo.site/search_events.csv'
-      Rake::Task['search_events:url_loader'].invoke(remote_file, 'test')
+      Rake::Task['search_events:csv_loader'].invoke(remote_file, 'test')
     end
 
     assert_not_equal records_before, SearchEvent.count
   end
 
-  test 'url_reload errors without any parameters' do
+  test 'csv_loader errors without any parameters' do
     error = assert_raises(ArgumentError) do
-      Rake::Task['search_events:url_loader'].invoke()
+      Rake::Task['search_events:csv_loader'].invoke
     end
-    assert_equal 'URL is required', error.message
+    assert_equal 'Path is required', error.message
   end
 
-  test 'url_reload errors without a source parameter' do
+  test 'csv_loader errors without a source parameter' do
     error = assert_raises(ArgumentError) do
       remote_file = 'http://static.lndo.site/search_events.csv'
-      Rake::Task['search_events:url_loader'].invoke(remote_file)
+      Rake::Task['search_events:csv_loader'].invoke(remote_file)
     end
     assert_equal 'Source is required', error.message
   end
-
 end